Law society meeting breaks up into chaos
What you need to know:
- A meeting called in March this year ended when the chair denied some members a chance to discuss the International Arbitration and Convention Centre which council plans to put up.
- The nearly 300 lawyers from across the country, were demanding a vote to oppose parts of the annual report, particularly on accounting, which some members felt were “questionable.”
- Seeing the crowd was not backing down on its demands, Mr Mutua and other members of the council including Jennifer Shamalla, Alan Kosgey, and Apollo Mboya – the chief executive officer – left through a side exit.
The Annual General Meeting of the Law Society of Kenya ended in chaos on Saturday.
The meeting saw society chairman Eric Mutua walk out accompanied by members of the council as tempers flared.
A meeting called in March this year ended when the chair denied some members a chance to discuss the International Arbitration and Convention Centre which council plans to put up. The members questioned the project’s cost and the meeting ended in mayhem.
The proposed arbitration centre, estimated to cost Sh1.2 billion, has been at the centre of a tussle between the society’s council and some members. Some felt it was too expensive and cited lack of transparency, alleged questionable costing and corrupt management. This matter is now in court.
The nearly 300 lawyers from across the country, were demanding a vote to oppose parts of the annual report, particularly on accounting, which some members felt were “questionable.”
Lawyer Edwin Sifuna and others vowed to disband society over graft claims.
He said: “The law society has today shown us that they have something to hide. We will collect signatures and take this matter to court. The body should not touch our money or do anything on our behalf. We will send all of them home.”
He argued that some of the figures did not tally with the work on the ground. The members demanded a vote to allow further discussions.
However chairman Mutua, refused to grant their request and asked if there was “any other business.”
This incensed the members who chanted, insisting they wanted to vote to oppose some accounting details that the members said were not “transparent”.
They insisted that the law society leadership was not being accountable to the members.
Seeing the crowd was not backing down on its demands, Mr Mutua and other members of the council including Jennifer Shamalla, Alan Kosgey, and Apollo Mboya – the chief executive officer – left through a side exit.
Other than the accounting issue, the members questioned the appointment of members to statutory bodies that some of the lawyers said was not transparent.
Mr Mutua said society doesn’t keep track of all its members.
